


Actors

by digthewriter



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8227531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: Merlin has a crush on an actor named Arthur Pendragon. Mordred thinks Gwaine is kinda cute.





	1. Chapter 1

_Bloody hell foreshadowing..._

"Beware the ides of March!" 

The actress yelled on stage as she exited and Merlin held his breath. He loved this part. He loved that Arthur Pendragon played Julius Caesar and he was so fucking brilliant at it. 

When the play was over, Merlin left with Mordred and ran right into his favourite actor. 

"Oh, sorry," Arthur said looking at Merlin and then at Mordred. "I'm sorry. I was just...I didn't see where I was going." 

Merlin was stunned silent at the fact that he'd just physically touched his favourite actor...bloody fucking hell Arthur Pendragon and what...he couldn't speak. He looked at Mordred for help whose eyes widened. 

"I...of course, it's no problem, sir." 

"Sir?" Arthur said with disdain and Merlin glared at him. Mordred knew, because Merlin told him that Arthur hated being called "Sir." 

"This is Mordred!" Merlin nearly well shouted. "I mean, I'm Merlin. And you're Arthur...and we're...fuck... we've got really bad timing." 

Arthur chuckled slightly and looked at Mordred. 

"I honestly didn't think he was going to be like this, otherwise, I wouldn't be friends with him," Mordred said. 

"Hey..." Merlin protested, glad he was getting his sense of speech back. 

"Did you two like the show?" Arthur asked. 

"Like the show?" Mordred said with amusement. "Merlin has dragged me to every show you've been in, Mr Pendragon. _Sir_." He winked at Arthur and Merlin continued to glare at him. 

"Oh, wow. Every show? I mean even the awful--" 

"Elf one when you were supposed to be a fairy with a squeaky voice?" Mordred said, "Oh yeah. Even that one. Every night." 

"You must be a good boyfriend..." Arthur said. 

"Now, you're just angling for compliments," Mordred replied. "Yes. Merlin has a giant, big, _humongous_ crush on you and no, we're not together. Even if we're both gay. And of course, we know you're gay, because Merlin doesn't harbour crushes on straight people--except for that one time.." 

"Mordred!" Merlin shouted. Glad his voice was back. "We'll be leaving now..." 

"Hey there... wait a second," Arthur said as Merlin had dragged Mordred away. "My friend Gwaine...He played Brutus-- is having a house party tonight. Do you two want to come?" 

"Are you serious?" Mordred said before Merlin could decline the invitation. Of course, Merlin should have known. As obsessed as he was with Arthur, Mordred was equally infatuated with Gwaine--Arthur's right hand man. "That would be bloody brilliant." 

"I don't know..." Merlin started to say and now Mordred glared at him. 

"If you don't want to, you can just go home. I can call you a taxi..." 

"Mordred." 

" _Merlin_." 

"Hey, there you are." 

Both Mordred and Merlin stopped their fighting to look up and see Gwaine approach Arthur. They were both so dressed down--looking casual--that if Merlin hadn't just been at the play, he wouldn't have know that these two were famous actors and not some average blokes walking down the street. 

"Hi," Merlin said to Gwaine and offered to shake his hand. 

"Oh, he speaks more!" Arthur said, in a teasing tone. 

"Oh, we know them?" Gwaine asked with interest as he looked at Mordred and smiled. 

"I just invited them to you party," Arthur said. 

"Brilliant. Shall we go then? The car's waiting," Gwaine said. Gwaine and Arthur led the way as Merlin and Mordred followed. 

"I have a feeling that this is going to be quite the night," Mordred whispered to Merlin. 

"Foreshadowing, are we?" Merlin joked. 

"You never know, Merlin. This might be the night we both get lucky. You get your man and I... will probably just gape at mine as he's snogging random girls." 

"You don't know if he's straight." 

"You don't know if he's gay." 

"Gwaine?" Merlin asked. 

Gwaine looked at Merlin and smirked. "Yeah. We all know Arthur is gay and he invited you to the party--" 

"He invited both of us!" Merlin said rolling his eyes and then finally approached the car that evidently belonged to Gwaine. Which was also a limousine. 

"You have got to be kidding me," Merlin said looking at the monstrosity that was in front of him. 

"What, you don't like it?" Arthur asked. 

"No... it's fine. Just shocked, is all," Merlin answered. 

They got inside the limousine and Mordred immediately took a seat next to Gwaine so Merlin sat next to Arthur. As the car pulled away, Merlin spent most of his time looking outside the window. When he chanced a look towards the other passengers, he saw Gwaine with his arm around Mordred's shoulder as they both sipped on champagne. Merlin shook his head and looked out the window again. 

"So you really like the theatre then," Arthur asked him and Merlin turned his attention to the man sitting next to him. 

"Yes. I enjoy it very much," Merlin said. 

"And you like me," Arthur said. 

Merlin smiled. "Yes, you're very enjoyable, as well." 

Arthur smiled and nodded at Merlin before he offered him a glass of champagne. "Thanks for coming to the party," he said and his words confused Merlin for a moment. "I'm not much into the social scene but because Gwaine is my co-actor and my friend. I can't skip these things..." 

"Mordred's certainly looking forward to it," Merlin said. 

"Yes. He'll have a good time I think." 

"Yeah, maybe I will too," replied Merlin.


	2. Chapter 2

The limo pulled up in front of a huge condo building, just outside the gates, and they all waited. Finally, the gates opened and they were moving again.

Merlin raised an eyebrow and looked at Mordred.

“What are you all doing rubbing theatre for if you can afford to live _here_ and ride in _this_?”

Merlin smiled at Mordred’s question, he could always rely on his best friend to be more candid than him. Besides, Mordred didn’t have anyone to impress; well, neither did Merlin but he did have Arthur’s hand resting on his knee.

“It’s fun,” Arthur said.

“What do you mean, fun?” Merlin asked.

Arthur shrugged and looked outside the window. Mordred and Merlin looked at each other again but they were both thoroughly confused. And if Arthur’s reaction was anything to go by, they weren’t going to get any answers.

Once inside the flat, Merlin made sure that he and Mordred didn’t go their separate ways. The flat was already full of people and they all ignored the two new comers and gave all their attention to Arthur and Gwaine.

“Read your review on twitter already,” one girl with long black hair said to Arthur as she kissed him on the cheek and then winked at Gwaine. She didn’t linger long though, since she gestured towards her empty glass of wine and walked away.

“Who do you reckon that is?” Merlin asked Mordred who shrugged and didn’t really seem to be paying any attention to him. Mordred’s eyes were locked on the big bay windows. Mordred walked towards them as if they were calling him, and Merlin followed.

“Isn’t this just fucking gorgeous?” Mordred asked as he and Merlin looked out towards the lake and the dark clouded sky. “It’s too bad the weather here is shite, otherwise, I bet you could get really beautiful views on a random day.”

“I suppose. Didn’t take you much for an enjoy the view of nature kind of bloke,” Merlin teased. He knew Mordred hated living in the city centre and was always talking about taking a camping or hiking trip.

“That’s because _you’re_ not,” Mordred said. “You love being in the pollution, riding our bicycle through traffic and taking in all that smog.”

“It’s not that much of smog,” Merlin argued.

“Ah, I see you found Gwaine’s favourite spot in the flat,” Arthur said, handing both Mordred and Merlin a beer.

“It’s brilliant,” Mordred said.

“Yeah. If it’s a nice day out, all Gwaine does is pull up the sofa and just stare out. Or read and occasionally stare out. I think he likes zoning out to nature and all. I like living here because it’s far from everything, but Gwaine is just really here for the view.”

“So you two live together?” Merlin asked. 

“Yeah, it’s a four bedroom flat. We treat the fourth room as a guest room of sorts,” replied Arthur.

“And the third room?”

“Oh, that belongs to my sister. That’s her…” Arthur pointed at the girl Merlin had first seen, the one who was all about drinking her wine.

“She didn’t come out to see the play? Just read it on Twitter?” Merlin asked; he hoped he didn’t sound judgemental, even if he was judging.

“She doesn’t get out much,” Arthur said; he gave merlin a smile and politely excused him.

“You think there’s something there?” Merlin asked Mordred.

“Where?” Mordred took a long sip of his beer and looked out the windows again.

“The way Arthur was being all secret-like about his sister.”

“We just met the man, you think he’s just going to open up to you about his life story—even if he wants to shag you.”

“He doesn’t want to shag me.”

“Right. Only normal people, with no-shagging intentions, leave their hand on your thigh for so long.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “It was my knee.”

“Right, whatever you say, mate.” Mordred shook his head and returned to his drink and the view.

“Mordred, was it?” Gwaine approached them a few seconds later and stood far too close to them. “Arthur told me I’d find you here.”

“It’s a great flat,” Mordred said. “I really like your place.”

“The little that we’ve seen, that is,” Merlin added.

“Well then, let’s go and let me give you a tour,” Gwaine said placing his arm around Mordred’s shoulder and ushering him away. Merlin wasn’t sure if he should have followed them. It certainly looked like Gwaine didn’t want him there.

He looked around, searching for Arthur, and when he locked his eyes with him, Arthur nodded. When Merlin turned to go with Gwaine and Mordred, they had disappeared. He took a step in the general direction of where he thought his friend might have gone when Arthur was there again.

“I can give you a tour,” he said, close to Merlin’s ear.

“Oh? I don’t know…I don’t want to leave Mordred…”

“Follow me,” Arthur said as he grabbed Merlin’s arm and pulled him down the hall. They made a few turns here and there and Arthur really had to wonder how big this _flat_ was. It seemed more like a mansion. When they neared a set of doors, Arthur’s pace slowed. “This is Gwaine’s room. Let’s see if we can find your friend there.”

Arthur opened the door and Merlin almost gasped to find Gwaine pinned against the wall with Mordred on top of him. Gwaine’s leg was wrapped around Mordred and his hands were grabbing onto Mordred’s arse.

“Still want to tag along with your friend, then?” Arthur asked slightly chuckling.

Merlin took a step back and gently closed the door to Gwaine’s room. “Well. I guess I’ll take a proper tour of your place then. Seeing as Mordred is occupied.”

“Brilliant,” Arthur said and he took Merlin into a study. “This is my favourite room. Let’s start from here.”


End file.
